Sterilizing device

ABSTRACT

A sterilizing device includes a pipe having an inlet and an outlet and allowing fluid to move therethrough and a light source provided on one side of the pipe and providing light to the fluid. At least a portion of the pipe is provided in a spiral shape and the inlet and/or the outlet are arranged in a light emitting region.

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY

The Present application is a continuation application of InternationalApplication No. PCT/KR/2019/009934 filed Aug. 8, 2019 which claimspriority to Korean Applications Nos. 10-2018-0092397 filed Aug. 8, 2018and 10-2019-0001944 filed Jan. 7, 2019, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiment of the present invention relate to a sterilizing device and,more specifically to a sterilizing device adapted to emit light to asterilization object for sterilization.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, pollution caused by industrialization, resulted insignificant interest in the environment together with well-being trends.Demand for clean water or clean air has increased and is increasing, andvarious products such as water purifiers and air/water purifiersfacilitating clean water and clean air are in demand.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a sterilizing devicecapable of efficiently sterilizing a sterilization object.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a sterilizingdevice includes: a pipe having an inlet and an outlet and adapted todeliver a fluid; and a light source provided to one side of the pipe andemitting light to the fluid, wherein at least part of the pipe has aspiral shape and at least one of the inlet and the outlet is disposed ina light emission region.

In at least one variant, at least part of the pipe may be transparent.

In another variant, one of the inlet and the outlet may correspond to acenter of the spiral shape.

In yet another variant, the light source may include a substrate and atleast one light emitting device disposed on the substrate.

In another variant, the pipe may be placed on a predetermined virtualplane. The virtual plane may be a flat surface.

In another variant, the plane may be parallel to the substrate.

In another variant, the inlet and the outlet may be placed at the sameside as the plane.

In another variant, one of the inlet and the outlet may be placed at oneside of the plane and the other may be placed at the other side of theplane.

In another variant, at least one of the inlet and the outlet may beplaced in a direction parallel to the plane.

In another variant, the pipe may be placed on a certain virtual plane.The virtual plane may be an inner surface of a funnel shape.

In another variant, an angle defined between the inner surface of thefunnel shape and an upper surface of the substrate may be in the rangeof 0 degrees to 20 degrees.

In another variant, the pipe may have flexibility.

In another variant, a line passing through a center of the pipe may be acurved line having a predetermined radius of curvature.

In another variant, a portion of the pipe may contact another portion ofthe pipe in plan view.

In another variant, a portion of the pipe may overlap another portion ofthe pipe in plan view.

In another variant, an area of the pipe in which a portion of the pipeoverlaps another portion of the pipe may be 50% or less of an entirearea of the pipe in plan view.

In another variant, the sterilizing device may further include a housingreceiving the pipe and the light source. The sterilizing device mayfurther include a cover fastened to the housing and covering thehousing.

In another variant, at least one of the housing and the cover may haveopenings corresponding to the inlet and the outlet.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, thesterilizing device may be employed by a water supply including: areservoir containing water; and a water treatment device connected tothe reservoir and treating the water.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, asterilizing device may be provided in various forms and includes: ahousing including a bottom and a sidewall extending upwards from thebottom and having an accommodation space defined by the bottom and thesidewall; a reflector disposed on the bottom and having a curvedreflective surface protruding from the bottom; a support portiondisposed on the reflector and having light transmittance; and a lightemitting device disposed on the sidewall and emitting light, wherein, ina cross-section of the curved surface taken along a line perpendicularto the bottom and passing through a center of the bottom, a curved linecorresponding to the curved surface corresponds to a portion of aparabolic line and a distance from the bottom to a focal point of theparabolic line may be greater than a distance from the bottom to avertex of the curved reflective surface.

In at least one variant, the curved surface may have a vertex having thehighest height from the center of the bottom in plan view.

In another variant, the curved surface may have a height graduallydecreasing from the center of the bottom to an outside of the bottom.

In another variant, the reflector may have a smaller diameter than thebottom.

In another variant, the bottom may have a greater width than a height ofthe sidewall.

In another variant, the light emitting device may be provided in pluraland may be disposed on the sidewall to emit light into the accommodationspace.

In another variant, the sterilizing device may further include ablocking portion provided to an end of the sidewall distant from thebottom and blocking some of light emitted from the light emittingdevice.

In another variant, the blocking portion may be disposed along an edgeof the bottom in plan view.

In another variant, the sterilizing device may further include a pipedisposed in the housing to be placed on a surface of the housing facingthe bottom and adapted to deliver a fluid.

A distance from the bottom to a focal point of the parabolic line may begreater than a distance from the bottom to the pipe.

In another variant, a sterilization object to be sterilized by the lightmay be disposed to face the light emitting device, with the supportportion interposed therebetween.

In one embodiment, the sterilization object may be a puff of a compactcosmetic. Embodiments of the present invention provide a sterilizingdevice capable of efficiently sterilizing a sterilization object in ashort period of time.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a sterilizing device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective sectional view of a pipe of the sterilizingdevice according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the pipe of the sterilizing device shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a light source in the sterilizingdevice according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of light sources having a circulararrangement in the sterilizing device.

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of light sources having a differentarrangement from the arrangement of FIG. 4B.

FIG. 5 is a perspective sectional view of a pipe of the sterilizingdevice according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the pipe of the sterilizing device shown inFIG. 5, in which dark circles correspond to an inlet and an outlet,respectively.

FIG. 7A is a plan view of modifications of the pipe in the sterilizingdevice according to the embodiment of the present invention, which havedifferent light emission regions.

FIG. 7B is a plan view of another modifications of the pipe in thesterilizing device from those of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C is a plan view of different modifications of the pipe in thesterilizing device from those of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a sterilizing device accordingto another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view of some portions of the sterilizing deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present invention, illustrating ahousing, a reflector, and light emitting devices.

FIG. 9B is a sectional view of some portions of the sterilizing deviceof FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a sterilizing deviceaccording to a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11A is a perspective view of some portions of the sterilizingdevice according to the embodiment of the present invention,illustrating a housing, a reflector, and light emitting devices.

FIG. 11B is a perspective view of some portions of the sterilizingdevice of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12A is a perspective view of some portions of the sterilizingdevice according to the embodiment of the present invention,illustrating a housing, a reflector, light emitting devices, and ablocking portion.

FIG. 12B is a sectional view of some portions of the sterilizing deviceof FIG. 12A.

FIG. 13A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa typical sterilizing device.

FIG. 13B is a view of some portions of the sterilizing device shown inFIG. 13A.

FIG. 14A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofanother typical sterilizing device.

FIG. 14B is a view of some portions of the sterilizing device shown inFIG. 14A.

FIG. 15A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa sterilizing device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15B is a view of some portions of the sterilizing device shown inFIG. 15A.

FIG. 16A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa sterilizing device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 16B is a view of some portions of the sterilizing device shown inFIG. 16A.

FIG. 17A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa sterilizing device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 17B is a view of some portions of the sterilizing device shown inFIG. 17A.

FIG. 18A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa sterilizing device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18B is a view of some portions of the sterilizing device shown inFIG. 18A.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of a water purifier according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so as tofully convey the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in theart.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a sterilizing device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 2 is a perspectivesectional view of a pipe of the sterilizing device according to theembodiment of the present invention.

In some embodiments, a variety of objects may be treated using asterilizing device and may include a fluid, by way of example. The fluidmay be water (especially running water) or air. In one embodiment,sterilization of a predetermined object includes, for example,sterilizing, purifying, and deodorizing the predetermined object throughthe sterilizing device. However, sterilization of a predetermined objectis not limited thereto and may include other possible treatment carriedout using a sterilizing device to be described later.

Herein, by way of example, a fluid will be described as a predeterminedobject.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the sterilizing device 1 according tothe embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 10constituting an external appearance of the sterilizing device, a lightsource 20 disposed in the housing 10 and emitting light, a pipe 30disposed in the housing 10 and adapted to deliver a fluid, and a cover40 covering an upper side of the housing 10.

The light source 20 emits light toward the fluid flowing in the pipe 30.In one embodiment, the light source 20 may include a substrate 21 and atleast one light emitting device 23 mounted on an upper surface of thesubstrate 21.

The substrate 21 may be realized by a plate and may have a circularshape corresponding to an outer spiral shape of the pipe 30. However, itshould be understood that the shape of the substrate 21 is not limitedthereto and may be modified in various ways so long as a suitable numberof light emitting devices 23 can be efficiently mounted on the substrate21.

The light emitting device 23 mounted on the upper surface of thesubstrate 21 may emit light at a predetermined irradiation angle in adirection substantially perpendicular to the upper surface of thesubstrate 21.

In some forms, the pipe 30 may have a hose shape extending in onedirection and provides an inner space in which the fluid is treated. Thefluid may flow in the inner space. The pipe 30 includes an inlet 31through which the fluid flows into the pipe, an outlet 35 through whichthe fluid is discharged from the pipe, and a body 33 connecting theinlet 31 to the outlet 35.

The body 33 has a hollow pipe shape. The body 33 is open at oppositeends thereof in a longitudinal direction to have the inlet 31 and theoutlet 35, respectively. In some forms, the body 33 may have acylindrical shape. In this case, the body 33 has a circularcross-sectional shape, as taken in a direction perpendicular to alongitudinal direction of the cylindrical shape thereof. However, itshould be understood that the body 33 is not limited thereto and, inother forms, may have various cross-sectional shapes, for example, anelliptical shape, a rectangular shape, and the like.

The pipe 30 is formed of a transparent insulating material to transmitlight emitted from the light emitting devices 23. The pipe 30 may beformed of various materials without being limited to a particularmaterial so long as the pipe has the functions mentioned above. Forexample, the pipe 30 may be formed of quartz or an organic polymermaterial that transmits light emitted from the light source 20. Here, asthe organic polymer material has different absorption/transmissionwavelengths depending on the type of monomer, a molding method, andconditions, the organic polymer material may be selected inconsideration of wavelengths emitted from the light emitting devices 23.For example, organic polymers, such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA),polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polypropylene (PP), and low-densitypolyethylene (PE) hardly absorb UV light, whereas organic polymers suchas polyester can absorb UV light.

In at least one variant, a photocatalytic layer (not shown) including aphotocatalytic material may be formed on inner and/or outercircumferential surfaces of the pipe 30. The photocatalytic materialrefers to a material causing catalytic reaction with light emitted fromthe light source 20 and may include titanium oxide (TiO₂), zinc oxide(ZnO), and tin oxide (SnO₂).

A photocatalyst can react with light in various wavelength bandsdepending on substances constituting the photocatalyst. In some forms, amaterial causing photocatalytic reaction with light in the UV wavelengthband among various wavelength bands may be used. However, thephotocatalyst is not limited thereto and other photocatalysts having thesame or similar mechanism may be used depending on light emitted fromthe light source 20. The photocatalyst is activated by UV light to causechemical reaction, thereby decomposing various pollutants and bacteriain air, which contacts the photocatalyst, through redox reaction. Aircan be sterilized, purified, and deodorized through such photocatalyticreaction. In particular, upon sterilization, the photocatalyst providesa sterilization or antibacterial function by destroying enzymes infungus cells and enzymes acting on the respiratory system are destroyed,thereby preventing growth of bacteria or fungi while decomposing toxinsreleased therefrom.

The photocatalytic layer may be provided to any region of the pipe,which can receive the light emitted from the light source 20, and may beprovided to an entire region or some region on the inner and/or outercircumferential surfaces of the pipe 30.

In some forms, the pipe 30, particularly, at least part of the body 33of the pipe 30, may be provided in a spiral shape. Herein, the spiralshape refers to a shape of a curve winding around a central point suchthat a distance from the central point gradually increases.

As shown in FIG. 2, the body 33 of the pipe 30 may be placed in a spiralshape on a plane. Assuming that three directions of X, Y and Z axesorthogonal to one another are referred to as first to third directionsD1, D2, D3, respectively, the body 33 of the pipe 30 may be placed on aplane defined by the first direction D1 and the second direction D2,that is, on an X-Y plane. In the following description, an upwarddirection means the third direction D3 and a downward direction means anopposite direction to the third direction D3.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the inlet 31 may beconnected to one side of the body 33. An extension direction of theinlet 31 of the pipe 30 may be different from an extension direction ofthe body 33. In the embodiment, the extension direction of the inlet 31may be inclined or perpendicular to the extension direction of the body33, whereby the fluid can flow into the body 33 in the inclineddirection or in the perpendicular direction thereto and can flow alongthe extension direction of the body 33. The fluid flowing into the body33 through the inlet 31 is an object to be treated in the body 33, forexample, an object to be sterilized, purified, or deodorized therein.

The outlet 35 may be disposed at a place spaced apart from the inlet 31and may be connected to the body 33. In one embodiment, an extensiondirection of the outlet 35 may be inclined or perpendicular to theextension direction of the body 33, whereby the fluid can flow in theextension direction of the body 33 and can be discharged from the body33 in the inclined direction or in the perpendicular direction thereto.The fluid discharged from the body 33 through the outlet 35 is an objecttreated in the body 33, for example, an object sterilized, purified, ordeodorized therein.

The inlet 31 and the outlet 35 may be placed at the same side on theplane on which the pipe 30 is placed. Alternatively, the inlet 31 may beplaced at one side on the plane on which the pipe 30 is placed and theoutlet 35 may be placed at the other side on the plane on which the pipe30 is placed. For example, all of the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 may bedisposed in the third direction D3 (that is, in the Z-axis direction),Alternatively, the inlet 31 may be disposed in the third direction D3and the outlet 35 may be disposed in an opposite direction to the thirddirection D3 (that is, in a −Z-axis direction). It should be understoodthat the locations of the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 may be modified invarious ways depending on the housing 10 described below and an externalapparatus for supplying a fluid.

It should be understood that the locations of the inlet 31 and theoutlet 35 in the pipe 30 are not limited thereto and may be modified invarious ways. For example, at least one of the inlet 31 and the outlet35 may be disposed parallel to the plane on which the pipe 30 is placed.For example, in other embodiments, at least one of the inlet 31 and theoutlet 35 may be disposed in the first direction D1 or in the seconddirection D2.

Each of the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 may have a circular or ellipticalcross-sectional shape. However, it should be understood that the presentinvention is not limited thereto and each of the inlet 31 and the outlet35 may have various cross-sectional shapes, for example, a polygonalcross-sectional shape. Here, the cross-section of each of the inlet 31and the outlet 35 may refer to a cross-section taken in a directionintersecting the extension direction of the inlet 31 or a direction inwhich a fluid channel is formed.

Although not shown in the drawings, the inlet 31 and/or the outlet 35may be provided with a separate pipe. The separate pipe may be connectedto the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 through a nozzle. The nozzle may becoupled to the inlet 31 and/or the outlet 35 in various ways, forexample, through screw coupling.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sterilizing device shown in FIG. 2, inwhich dark circles correspond to the inlet 31 and the outlet 35.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the inlet 31 may bedisposed at the center of the spiral shape and the outlet 35 may bedisposed outside the spiral shape in plan view. For the body 33 of thepipe 30 placed in a plane, all lines corresponding to axes of the pipe30 are placed in the same plane and form a curved line having apredetermined radius of curvature.

In the embodiment, since the body 33 of the pipe 30 is disposed along aspiral, a portion of the pipe 30 becomes adjacent to another portion ofthe pipe 30. The adjacent portions of the pipe 30 may be separated fromeach other or contact each other. A distance between the adjacentportions of the pipe 30 may be generally constant.

In one embodiment, the body 33 of the pipe 30 may be disposedsubstantially in a light emission region 20R. In order to allow thefluid flowing in the pipe 30 to be irradiated with a sufficient quantityof light, at least part of the pipe 30 or, if possible, the entirety ofthe pipe 30, may be disposed in the light emission region 20R. The lightemission region 20R may be determined based on the light emission angleof the light source 20, the quantity of light, the intensity of light,and the like.

In one embodiment, in order to ensure sufficient exposure to light, atleast one of the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 may be disposed in the lightemission region 20R. For example, both the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 orone of the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 may be disposed in the lightemission region 20R. In this embodiment, both the inlet 31 and theoutlet 35 may be disposed in the light emission region 20R such that theinlet 31 may correspond to the center of the spiral shape. In thisstructure, when flowing into the pipe through the inlet 31 disposed atthe center of the spiral shape, the fluid sequentially flows along thespiral and is discharged through the outlet 35, whereby the fluidnecessarily passes through the center of the spiral shape, at which thefluid is irradiated with a relatively large quantity of light having thehighest intensity. Accordingly, the fluid can be sufficiently exposed tolight even in consideration of the fact that the intensity or quantityof light can be changed depending on the location of the light emittingdevice 23.

In another embodiment, both the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 may bedisposed in the light emission region 20R such that the outlet 35 maycorrespond to the center of the spiral shape. In this structure, whenflowing into the pipe through the inlet 31 disposed outside the centerof the spiral shape, the fluid flows along the spiral and is dischargedthrough the outlet 35 disposed at the center of the spiral shape,whereby the fluid necessarily passes through the center of the spiralshape, at which the fluid is irradiated with a relatively large quantityof light having the highest intensity. Accordingly, the fluid can besufficiently exposed to light even in consideration of the fact that theintensity or quantity of light can be changed depending on the locationof the light emitting device 23.

However, it should be understood that the locations of the inlet 31 andthe outlet 35 are not limited thereto. According to one embodiment, solong as the body 33 of the pipe 30 is irradiated with a sufficientquantity of light for sterilization, one of the inlet 31 and the outlet35 may be disposed in the light emission region 20R and the other may bedisposed outside the light emission region 20R. As one of the inlet 31and the outlet 35 is disposed in the light emission region 20R, thefluid is discharged outside after passing through a portion at which thefluid is irradiated with a relatively large quantity of light having arelatively high intensity. As a result, the sterilization device canimprove fluid treatment effects.

In some forms, the pipe 30 may have flexibility. Thus, the pipe 30 maybe bent into a spiral shape. However, in other forms, the pipe 30 doesnot necessarily have flexibility and may be a non-flexible pipe bentinto a spiral shape.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the light source 20 is disposed at one side of thepipe 30 and emits light. In the embodiment in which the body 33 of thepipe 30 is disposed on a plane, the light source 20 may be disposed toallow light emitted from the light source 20 to reach the plane as muchas possible. For example, the light source 20 is disposed in a directionin which the substrate 21 is parallel to the plane. Here, the lightsource 20 may be disposed to directly contact the pipe 30 or may bespaced apart from the pipe 30 so as to have a distance to allow light tobe sufficiently dispersed.

In one embodiment, the light source 20 may be disposed to emit light ina substantially perpendicular direction to a flow direction of the fluidin the pipe 30. In this embodiment, an angle defined between the planeand light traveling perpendicular to the upper surface of the substrate21 may be substantially about 90 degrees. However, it should beunderstood that the direction of light emitted from the light source 20is not limited thereto and may be modified in various ways so long thebody 33 of the pipe 30 can be irradiated with a sufficient quantity oflight emitted from the light source 20 inclined at an angle within apredetermined range with respect to the flowing direction of the fluid.

Light emitted from the light source 20 may have various wavelengthbands. Light emitted from the light source 20 may have wavelengths inthe visible wavelength band, in the infrared (IR) wavelength band, or inother wavelength bands. In the embodiment, the light emitted from thelight source 20 may have various wavelength bands depending on the typeof fluid and an object to be treated (for example, germs or bacteria).In particular, when sterilizing a fluid, the light may have asterilization wavelength band. For example, the light source 20 may emitlight in the UV wavelength band.

In some forms, the light source 20 may emit light having a wavelength ofabout 100 nm to about 405 nm, which is a wavelength band capable ofsterilizing microorganisms. For instance, the light source 20 may emitlight having a wavelength of about 100 nm to about 280 nm; additionally,the light source 20 may emit light in a wavelength band of about 180 nmto about 280 nm, and as another example, the light source 20 may emitlight having a wavelength of about 250 nm to about 260 nm. UV light inthese wavelength bands has high sterilizing power and can destroy up toabout 99% of bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus diphtheriae,and Bacillus dysenteriae, at an intensity of, for example, 100 μW percm². In addition, UV light in these wavelength bands can kill bacteriacausing food poisoning, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus,Salmonella Weltevreden, S. typhumurium, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacilluscereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeriamonocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridium perfringens,Clostridium botulinum, Campylobacter jejuni, and Enterobacter sakazakii.

To emit light as described above, the light source 20 may include atleast one light emitting device 23. The light emitting device 23 is notlimited to a particular kind so long as the light emitting device canemit light in a wavelength band capable of reacting with thephotocatalytic material. For example, for the light source 20 emittinglight in the UV wavelength band, the light source may employ variouslight emitting devices 23 configured to emit UV light. The lightemitting device 23 configured to emit UV light may be, for example alight emitting diode. It should be understood that the light source 20may employ other kinds of light emitting device 23 known in the art toemit light in other wavelength bands.

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C are perspective views of the light source 20 in thesterilizing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.Although the substrate 21 may be provided with a withdrawal opening forwithdrawal of a wire through which power is supplied to the lightemitting device 23, the withdrawal opening is omitted in FIG. 4A to FIG.4C for convenience of description.

Referring to FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C, the light emitting device 23 may bedisposed in various numbers, for example, singularly or in plural, onthe substrate 21. When the light emitting device 23 is provided inplural, the light emitting devices 23 are uniformly distributed on thesubstrate 21 such that the entirety of the pipe is uniformly irradiatedwith light. For example, for the substrate 21 constituted by n regionshaving the same area, each of first to n^(th) regions may be providedwith at least one light emitting device 23. When the substrate 21 has acircular shape or when the pipe has a circular cross-section and thesubstrate 21 does not have a circular shape, at least some of the lightemitting devices 23 may be disposed equidistantly from the center of thecircular shape or may be disposed at locations spaced apart therefrom bydifferent distances. The light emitting devices 23 may be disposed atlocations to ensure that light emitted therefrom uniformly reaches eachregion in the pipe.

For the light source 20 including multiple light emitting devices 23,each of the light emitting devices 23 may emit light in the samewavelength band or in different wavelength bands. For example, in oneembodiment, each of the light emitting devices 23 may emit UV light inthe same wavelength band or in similar wavelength bands. In anotherembodiment, some light emitting devices 23 may emit light in some UVwavelength bands and the other light emitting devices 23 may emit lightin other UV wavelength bands.

When the light emitting devices 23 have different wavelength bands, thelight emitting devices 23 may be arranged in various sequences. Forexample, a light emitting devices 23 emitting light in a firstwavelength band and a light emitting devices 23 emitting light in asecond wavelength band different from the first wavelength band may bealternately arranged.

Although not shown in FIGS. 4A through 4C, the sterilizing deviceaccording to the teachings of the present disclosure may further includea drive circuit connected to the light source 20 and an interconnectportion connecting the drive circuit to a light emitting device 23. Thedrive circuit may supply electric power to at least one light emittingdevice 23. For example, the drive circuit may be provided to thesterilizing device having the light source 20 to independently supplyelectric power to the light emitting devices 23. Accordingly, the lightemitting devices 23 may be selectively driven such that all of the lightemitting devices 23 can be turned on or off, or some light emittingdevices 23 can be turned on, with the rest of the light emitting devicesturned off.

Referring again to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the pipe 30 and the light source 20may be received in the housing 10 having various shapes. The housing 10generally constitutes an external appearance of the sterilizing deviceand has an accommodation space 15 that receives the pipe 30 and thelight source 20 therein.

The housing 10 includes a bottom 11 and a sidewall 13 extending upwardsfrom the bottom 11. The bottom 11 may have a shape corresponding to theshape of the light source 20 or the pipe 30. Thus, in the embodiment,the bottom 11 may have a circular shape in plan view. However, it shouldbe understood that the shape of the bottom 11 is not limited thereto andmay be modified according to the structure of the pipe 30. For example,the bottom 11 may have a rectangular shape and the sidewall 13 may havea sidewall corresponding to each side of the rectangle. In this case,the overall shape of the sterilizing device may be a rectangularparallelepiped.

The sidewall 13 may define the accommodation space 15 together with thebottom 11 and may have a height such that the light source 20, the pipe30, and other components including wires can be sufficiently received inthe accommodation space 15.

The cover 40 is disposed on an upper side of the housing 10. The cover40 may be fastened to the sidewall 13 and covers an upper side of theaccommodation space 15.

The cover 40 may be formed with openings at portions thereofcorresponding to the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 of the pipe 30 such thatthe inlet 31 and the outlet 35 can be connected to the outside throughthe openings, as shown in FIG. 1. The inlet 31 and the outlet 35 maypass through the openings or may be connected thereto through a separateconnection pipe 30 instead of passing through the openings. A fastenermay be disposed between the housing 10 and the cover 40 to stablyprotect the pipe 30 and the light source 20.

It should be understood that the shapes of the housing 10 and the cover40 are simplified for convenience of description and may be modifiedinto various shapes. For example, although only the cover 40 isillustrated as having the openings corresponding to the inlet 31 and theoutlet 35 in this embodiment, it should be understood that the presentinvention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the housing 10 may beformed with at least one of the openings corresponding to the inlet 31and the outlet 35.

In the embodiment, the housing 10 and the cover 40 may form the externalappearance of the sterilizing device. In another embodiment, anadditional component may be provided outside the housing 10 and thecover 40, and may constitute the external appearance of the sterilizingdevice.

In one embodiment, the housing 10 and the cover 40 may have a reflectivelayer therein. The reflective layer allows light emitted from the lightsource 20 to travel continuously inside the body 33 without leaking tothe outside. The reflective layer may be formed of any material withoutlimitation so long as the reflective layer can reflect light. Inaddition, the reflective layer may be formed in any region withoutlimitation so long as light emitted from the light source 20 can reachthe reflective layer, and may be formed in the entire region of thehousing 10 and an inner surface of cover or may be formed in someregions thereof.

In one embodiment, the housing 10 and the cover 40 may be formed of amaterial having high reflectivity and/or a metal having high thermalconductivity such that light emitted from the light emitting device 23can be efficiently reflected inside the pipe 30. For example, the pipe30 may be formed of a material having high reflectivity, such asstainless steel, aluminum, magnesium oxide, and the like, or may beformed of a material having high thermal conductivity, such as stainlesssteel, aluminum, silver, gold, copper, and alloys thereof. Metals havinghigh thermal conductivity can effectively dissipate heat from the pipe30.

With the structure described above, the sterilizing device allows thefluid to flow along the body 33 having a spiral shape, thereby providingan elongated flow channel inside the pipe 30. The elongated flow channelinside the pipe 30 allows the fluid to be exposed to light emitted fromthe light emitting device 23 for a long period of time, therebyincreasing the accumulation rate of light on the fluid while improvingfluid treatment efficiency.

Further, according to the embodiments, since the fluid flows along theelongated flow channel inside the pipe 30, generation of an eddy can beminimized, thereby suppressing stagnation of the fluid that can occurnear a portion where an eddy is generated. When some fluids arestagnant, the stagnant fluids and not the rest of fluids are exposed tolight. However, the sterilizing device according to the embodimentprovides the elongated flow channel that allows the fluids to be exposedto light.

Furthermore, according to the embodiments, since the sterilizing devicehas a first-in and first-out structure that allows the fluid firstintroduced into the pipe 30 to be eventually discharged first, theoverall fluid can be uniformly exposed to light in the sterilizingdevice, thereby providing a uniform sterilization effect on the entirefluid.

Furthermore, as the substrate of the light source 20 is parallel to thearrangement direction of the pipe 30, most part of the body of the pipe30 may be disposed close to the light source 20, and the distance fromthe substrate of the light source 20 to each portion of the pipe 30 issubstantially the same or similar. The sterilization effect of lightemitted from the light source 20 decreases with increasing distance fromthe light source to the pipe 30 to be sterilized, and the sterilizationeffect is increased with decreasing distance between the light source 20and the pipe 30. In other words, since each portion of the pipe 30 isdisposed at a close distance from the light source 20 as a whole in thesterilizing device, sterilization is performed within a distance wherelight emitted from the light source 20 has the maximum sterilizationpower. If the pipe 30 is distant from the substrate of the light source20 as in the related art, some portion of the pipe 30 is close to thelight source 20, but the other portion of the pipe 30 is distant fromthe light source 20. Thus, the sterilization device according to theteachings of the present disclosure can avoid a drawback of the relatedart, i.e., only some portion of the pipe 30 is sterilized within adistance where the light has high sterilization power.

Furthermore, since the light emitted from the light source 20 isprovided to the fluid at an angle substantially close to 90 degrees,easy sterilization is achieved without light penetrating deeply into thefluid, thereby significantly improving sterilization efficiency of thelight. If the fluid moves in a direction parallel to the light emittedfrom the light source 20, since a penetration depth of the light is notdeep with respect to the flow direction of the fluid, sterilizationoccurs only in a direction in which the light source 20 is placed, andsterilization efficiency is very low in a portion of the pipe distantfrom the light source 20.

Furthermore, the light emitting devices 23 of the light source 20 mayhave a narrow beam angle of 90 degrees or a wide beam angle of 150degrees or more. If the fluid flows in a direction parallel to the lightemitted from the light source 20, there can be difficulty insterilization using most light emitted widely at a wide beam angle.However, in the embodiments, since the pipe 30 is disposed on the planefacing the light source 20, the sterilization device advantageouslyallows the light emitted at a wide beam angle to be used as much aspossible.

If a moving speed of the fluid in the pipe 30 is too low, the amount ofthe fluid to be treated becomes small. Thus, the moving speed of thefluid may be determined depending on capacity of the light emittingdevices 23 treating the fluid in order to achieve effective treatment ofa suitable amount of the fluid.

According to the teachings of the present disclosure, the pipe may havea variety of shapes so as to be sufficiently and efficiently exposed tolight emitted from the light source.

FIG. 5 is a perspective sectional view of the pipe of the sterilizingdevice according to the embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 6is a plan view of the pipe of the sterilizing device shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, in the sterilizing device according tothe embodiment, the body 33 may be disposed in a spiral shape on acurved three-dimensional (3D) plane rather than on a two-dimensional(2D) plane. The body 33 may be disposed in a spiral shape on a virtualplane so as to have a shape that rises or descends in the thirddirection toward the center of the spiral shape. In this embodiment, thebody 33 is illustrated as having a shape that rises in the thirddirection D3 toward the center of the spiral shape. In this structure,the virtual plane may be an inner surface of a funnel shape.

Here, an angle defined between the inner surface of the funnel shape andlight emitted from the light source may be smaller than the angletherebetween when the body 33 has a flat shape. That is, this is becausethe inner surface of the funnel shape is inclined with respect to aplane perpendicular to the light emitted from the light source. As oneexample, the angle defined between the inner surface of the funnel shapeand the light emitted from the light source may be 70 degrees to 90degrees.

In this structure, when a portion of the body 33 is wound in a spiralshape on a 3D plane, the body 33 may be wound to have portionscontacting each other with a height difference therebetween in planview. When viewed in a 2D plane, a portion of the body 33 may overlapanother portion of the body 33. When a portion of the body 33 overlapsanother portion of the body 33, an overlapping area of the body 33 maybe about 50% or less of the entire area of the body 33 in plan view. Ifthe overlapping area of the body 33 exceeds about 50% of the entire areaof the body 33, a sufficient amount of light may not reach the fluid.Thus, the body 33 may be wound so as to minimize the overlapping area.

In one embodiment, the body 33 may be inclined with respect to the lightemitted from the light source 20 such that the flow channel of the fluidmay be set at an angle optimized for a beam angle when a certain lightemitting device 23 emits light at a large beam angle.

Further, although the body 33 is illustrated as having a shape extendingin one direction in the above embodiment, the body 33 may have adifferent shape. Alternatively, a portion of the body may have a spiralshape in the light emission region, or at least one of the inlet 31 andthe outlet 35 may be disposed in the light emission region 20R, as shownin FIG. 6.

In one embodiment, in a structure wherein the body 33 is disposed in aspiral shape on a curved 3D plane, a distance from the light source tothe body 33 may vary depending on the location on the body 33.Accordingly, the quantity or intensity of light emitted from the lightsource and reaching each location on the body 33 may be different. Insome embodiments, the shape of the light source may be changed to allowa sufficient quantity and intensity of light to reach each portion ofthe body 33, regardless of the location on the body 33. For example, thenumber or arrangement of light emitting devices in the light source maybe changed, or the light emitting devices emitting different intensitiesof light may be combined in different combinations. As in thisembodiment, when the body 33 is placed along the surface of the funnelshape, a portion of the body 33 placed at the center of the funnel isfarther from the light source than a portion of the body 33 locatedoutside the funnel shape. In this case, more light emitting devices maybe placed at the center of the light source and fewer light emittingdevices may be placed outside the light source, thereby uniformlyproviding a sufficient quantity of light to the entirety of the pipe.

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are plan views of different modifications of the pipe30 in the sterilizing device according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, which have different light emission regions 20R.

Referring to FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, the light emission region 20R of thesterilizing device may have a circular shape as in the above embodiment,or may be provided in various forms, such as an elliptical shape, asemicircular shape, a polygonal shape, and various closed figurescomposed of curves and straight lines, instead of the circular shape. Inthese embodiments, the light emission region has a rectangular shape byway of example. In one embodiment, the light emission region 20R havinga rectangular shape may be obtained by arranging multiple light emittingdevices on a substrate having a substantially rectangular shape.

The pipe may be bent multiple times in various shapes so as to beexposed to as much light as possible corresponding to the shape of thelight emission region. In particular, at least part of the pipe may beprovided in a spiral shape, as shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, or the pipemay be bent multiple times in a zigzag shape, as shown in FIG. 7C. Here,as shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, both the inlet and the outlet may bedisposed in the light emission region and may be disposed at the centerof the light emission region.

With the structure described above, as in the embodiment describedabove, the flow channel of the fluid in the pipe has an elongated shapeand is exposed to light emitted from the light emitting devices for along period of time. As a result, the accumulation rate of light on thefluid is increased together with improvement in fluid treatmentefficiency.

The fluid flows along the elongated pipe 30, generation of an eddy canbe minimized, thereby suppressing stagnation of the fluid that can occurnear a portion where an eddy is generated. Further, since thesterilizing device has a first-in and first-out structure that allowsthe fluid first introduced into the pipe to be eventually dischargedfirst, the overall fluid can be uniformly exposed to light in thesterilizing device, thereby providing a uniform sterilization effect onthe entire fluid. Furthermore, since the light emitted from the lightsource 20 is provided to the fluid at an angle substantially close to 90degrees, easy sterilization is achieved without light penetrating deeplyinto the fluid. Furthermore, since the pipe is disposed on the planefacing the light source, the sterilization device advantageously allowslight emitted at a wide beam angle to be used as much as possible.

Some components of the sterilizing device according to the teachings ofthe present disclosure may be modified to maximize sterilizationefficiency with respect to a certain object.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a sterilizing device 100according to another embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the sterilizing device 100 refers to a device that performstreatment, such as sterilization, purification, and deodorization, for apredetermined object (or a sterilization object). The predeterminedobject may be a fluid (particularly, flowing water or air) that does nothave a specific shape as in the above embodiments, or may be variousobjects having a specific shape, for example, parts in cosmetics, suchas puffs and the like.

In the following embodiment, a fluid will be described as apredetermined object and the sterilizing device according to theembodiment of the invention is a fluid sterilizing device. However, thepredetermined object may be changed in various ways without departingfrom the concept of the present invention. In addition, for convenienceof description, the following description will focus on differentfeatures of the embodiment from the above embodiments and, for detailsof portions omitted herein, refer to the above description.

Referring to FIG. 8, the sterilizing device 100 according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure includes a housing 10 constitutingan external appearance of the sterilizing device 100, light emittingdevices 23 disposed in the housing 10 and emitting light, a pipe 30disposed in the housing 10 and adapted to deliver a fluid, a reflector50 disposed in the housing 10 and reflecting light, and a cover 40covering an upper side of the housing 10. The components of thesterilization device 10 may be structurally different from those of thesterilization device 1, but the same reference numerals are used toindicate the same components for convenience of descriptions.

The housing 10 defines an accommodation space 15 that receives the pipe30, the reflector 50, and the light emitting devices 23, and includes abottom 11 and a sidewall 13 extending upwards from the bottom 11. Theaccommodation space 15 may be defined by the bottom 11 and the sidewall13 and may be open at an upper side thereof.

The bottom 11 may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the lightemitting devices 23 or the pipe 30. Thus, in some forms, the bottom 11may have a circular shape in plan view. However, it should be understoodthat the shape of the bottom 11 is not limited thereto and may bemodified according to the structure of the pipe 30. In other forms, thebottom 11 may have a rectangular shape and the sidewall 13 may have asidewall corresponding to each side of the rectangle. In this case, theoverall shape of the sterilizing device may be a rectangularparallelepiped. In the following description of the embodiment, thebottom 11 having a circular shape will be described by way of example.

The sidewall 13 may define the accommodation space 15 together with thebottom 11 and may have a height such that the light emitting devices 23,the pipe 30, and other components including wires can be sufficientlyreceived in the accommodation space 15.

In one embodiment, the bottom 11 may have a greater width than theheight of the sidewall 13. For example, when the bottom 11 has acircular shape, the housing 10 may have a cylindrical shape having asmaller height than the diameter of the circle constituting the bottom11.

The light emitting devices 23 are disposed on the sidewall 13 of thehousing 10 and emit light into the accommodation space 15.

In some forms, the light emitting device 23 may be provided in plural.The light emitting device 23 may be provided in various numbers. Forexample, the housing may include 3, 4, 5 or 6 light emitting devices 23.When the light emitting device 23 is provided in plural, the lightemitting devices 23 may be arranged in various ways so as to provideuniform light in the accommodation space 15. For example, the lightemitting devices 23 may be radially arranged with respect to the centerof the bottom 11. Further, the light emitting devices 23 may be arrangedequidistantly from the center of the bottom 11 and may be arranged atconstant intervals. As shown in the drawings, when the bottom 11 has acircular shape, the light emitting device 23 may be disposed at eachvertex of a regular n-polygon inscribed within the circle. However, inone embodiment, when the light emitting devices 23 emit differentintensities of light, the distance between the light emitting devices 23may be set differently in consideration of the different intensities oflight. Further, in the embodiment, the number of light emitting devices23 may be changed depending upon the beam angle of each of the lightemitting devices 23 and the light emitting devices 23 may be provided ina number that can cover about 90% or more of the light emission regionwhen regions within the beam angles of the light emitting devices 23 aresummed.

The light emitting devices 23 emit light towards the fluid flowing inthe pipe 30. The light emitting devices 23 are disposed on the sidewallof the housing 10. Since the sidewall of the housing 10 extends upwardfrom the bottom 11, light emitted from the light emitting devices 23travels generally parallel to the bottom 11 of the housing 10 and thenis directed upwards after being reflected directly by the accommodationspace 15 or reflected multiple times by other components (by thereflector 50 or by the bottom 11 or the sidewall 13 of the housing 10)in the accommodation space.

Light emitted from the light emitting devices 23 may have variouswavelength bands. The light emitted from the light emitting devices 23may have wavelengths in the visible wavelength band, in the IRwavelength band, or in other wavelength bands. In the embodiment, thelight emitted from the light emitting devices 23 may have variouswavelength bands depending on the type of fluid and an object to betreated (for example, germs or bacteria). In particular, in fluidsterilization, the light may have a sterilization wavelength band.

A sterilization object is disposed in the accommodation space 15 of thehousing 10 to be spaced apart from the light emitting devices 23. Inthis embodiment, the sterilization object is a fluid, which flows withinthe pipe 30 having the inlet and the outlet 35. In this embodiment, thefluid inside the pipe 30 is treated by applying light to the pipe 30.Accordingly, the pipe 30 will be described below as the sterilizationobject.

According to the embodiment, as the sterilization object, the pipe 30 isdisposed on a surface inside the housing 10 to face the bottom 11. Here,the surface facing the bottom 11 is a virtual plane substantiallyparallel to the bottom 11. The virtual plane is spaced apart from thebottom 11 by a predetermined distance.

The pipe 30 may be secured to the housing 10 to be spaced apart from thebottom 11 and the reflector 50. To this end, the sidewall 13 of thehousing 10 may be provided on an inner side thereof with a steppedportion, a fixing clip, or an engaging fastener to secure the pipe 30.

The pipe 30 has a hose shape extending in one direction. The fluid mayflow in the pipe 30. The pipe 30 includes an inlet 31 through which thefluid flows into the pipe, an outlet 35 through which the fluid isdischarged from the pipe, and a body 33 connecting the inlet 31 to theoutlet 35.

The body 33 has a hollow pipe shape. The body 33 is open at oppositeends thereof in a longitudinal direction thereof to have the inlet 31and the outlet 35, respectively.

The cover 40 may cover the accommodation space 15, which is open in thethird direction D3, that is, in an upward direction. The cover 40 may befastened to the sidewall 13 and covers an upper side of theaccommodation space 15 in a downward direction.

The cover 40 may be formed with openings at portions thereofcorresponding to the inlet 31 and the outlet 35 of the pipe 30 such thatthe inlet 31 and the outlet 35 can be connected to the outside throughthe openings. The inlet 31 and the outlet 35 may pass through theopenings or may be connected thereto through a separate connection pipe30 instead of passing through the openings. A fastener may be disposedbetween the housing 10 and the cover 40 to stably protect the pipe 30and the light emitting devices 23.

It should be understood that the shapes of the housing 10 and the cover40 are simplified for convenience of description and may be modifiedinto various shapes. For example, although only the cover 40 isillustrated as having the openings corresponding to the inlet 31 and theoutlet 35 in this embodiment, it should be understood that the presentinvention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the housing 10 may beformed with at least one of the openings corresponding to the inlet 31and the outlet 35.

In the embodiment, the housing 10 and the cover 40 may form the externalappearance of the sterilizing device 100. In another embodiment, anadditional component may be provided outside the housing 10 and thecover 40, and may form the external appearance of the sterilizingdevice.

The reflector 50 is disposed between the bottom 11 and the pipe 30 andreflects light emitted from the light emitting devices 23 such that thelight can uniformly travel towards the pipe 30 as much as possible. Tothis end, the reflector 50 has a curved reflective surface protrudingfrom the bottom 11 towards the pipe 30, that is, in the upwarddirection. Here, the reflector 50 protrudes in the upward direction andthe curved reflective surface is downwardly concave.

The reflector 50 allows the light emitted from the light emittingdevices 23 to travel continuously inside the body 33 without leaking tothe outside. The reflector 50 may be formed of any material withoutlimitation so long as the reflector 50 can reflect light.

The reflector 50 may be formed of a material having high reflectivitysuch that light emitted from the light emitting devices 23 can beefficiently reflected inside the pipe 30. In one embodiment, thereflector 50 may be formed of a material having high reflectivity, suchas stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium oxide, and the like. Here, thereflector 50 may be realized by a monolithic structure formed of amaterial having high reflectivity, without being limited thereto.Alternatively, the reflector 50 may be formed of a material havingrelatively low reflectivity and coated with a material having highreflectivity.

In other embodiments, the housing 10 and the cover 40 may be formed of amaterial having high reflectivity such that light emitted from the lightemitting devices 23 can be efficiently reflected inside theaccommodation space 15 and finally reaches the pipe, and/or a metalhaving high thermal conductivity to allow heat generated from the lightemitting devices 23 to be effectively discharged. For example, thehousing 10 and the cover 40 may be formed of a material having highreflectivity, such as stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium oxide, andthe like, or may be formed of a material having high thermalconductivity, such as stainless steel, aluminum, silver, gold, copper,and alloys thereof.

The sterilizing device according to the embodiment of the inventionincludes the reflector 50 to allow the light emitted from the lightemitting devices 23 to be efficiently provided to the pipe 30 and thefollowing description will focus on this feature.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are a perspective view and a sectional view of aportion of a sterilizing device according to an embodiment of theinvention, illustrating a housing, a reflector, and light emittingdevices. In FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the cover and the pipe are omitted forconvenience of description.

Referring to FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, in the sterilizing device according tothe embodiment of the invention, the bottom 11 of the housing 10 has agreater diameter than the height of the sidewall 13. Accordingly, thehousing 10 has a cylindrical shape having a low height.

Assuming that the diameter of the bottom 11 of the housing 10 is a firstdiameter W1 and the height of the side wall extending upwards from anupper surface of the bottom 11 (that is, in the third direction D3) is afirst height L1, the first diameter W1 may be greater than the firstheight L1, as shown in FIG. 9B.

The sidewall 13 may be provided with the light emitting devices 23,which may be placed at locations on the sidewall 13 corresponding to thesecond height L2 from the upper surface of the bottom 11. Here, forconvenience of description, the height of the light emitting device 23is represented by an upper height of the light emitting devices 23 fromthe bottom 11. The light emitting devices 23 are disposed on thesidewall 13 below an upper end of the sidewall 13. That is, the secondheight L2 at which the light emitting devices 23 are disposed is lessthan the first height L1 of the sidewall 13. Such a location of thelight emitting devices 23 serves to separate the pipe 30 on the sidewall13 from the light emitting devices 23 by a predetermined distance. Ifthe distance between the pipe 30 and the light emitting devices 23 istoo short, the light can be concentrated on some portion of the pipe 30.Thus, the second height L2 may be adjusted such that the pipe 30 isspaced apart from the light emitting devices 23 to achieve uniformapplication of light as much as possible.

The reflector 50 may have the same diameter W1 as the housing 10 and mayhave a shape protruding upwards from the bottom 11 of the housing 10.Assuming that a height of the highest portion of the reflector 50protruding from the bottom 11 is a third height L3, the third height L3may be less than the height L1 of the sidewall 13. In the embodiment,for the pipe 30 to be disposed inside the housing 10, it is desirablethat the third height L3 be not greater than the first height L1.

Assuming that the highest portion of the reflector 50 is a vertex CT,the vertex CT may be disposed at the center of the bottom 11 in planview. For example, if the bottom 11 has a circular or square shape, thevertex may be placed at the center of the circle or square when viewedin a plane. However, the vertex does not always have to be placed at thecenter of the bottom 11, and if the light emitting devices 23 spacedapart from each other emit light having different intensities, thelocation of the vertex may vary in consideration of the intensity oflight emitted from the light emitting devices 23.

In this embodiment, the reflector 50 has a curved surface and graduallyprotrudes from the bottom 11 in a direction from an edge of the bottom11 towards the center of the bottom 11. In other words, the curvedsurface has the highest vertex from the bottom 11 at the center of thebottom 11. In addition, the reflector 50 decreases in height from thebottom 11 from the vertex CT toward an edge of the reflector 50. Inother words, the height of the reflector 50 from the bottom 11 decreasesfrom the center toward the outside of the bottom 11.

In the embodiment, the reflector 50 has a curved shape optimized toallow light emitted from the light source to travel as uniformly aspossible in the upward direction. To this end, in a cross-section of thecurved surface of the reflector 50 taken along a line perpendicular tothe bottom 11 and passing through the center of the bottom 11, a curvedline corresponding to the cross-section of the curved surface may havevarious shapes. For example, the curved line corresponding to thecross-section of the curved surface may correspond to a portion of aparabolic line. The curved line may consist of only a portioncorresponding to a parabolic line indicated by a single formula, or mayconsist of some portion corresponding to a parabolic line indicated by acertain formula, and the other portion corresponding to a parabolic lineindicated by another formula.

Here, the axis of the parabolic line may be substantially parallel tothe upper surface of the bottom 11, and a distance from the bottom 11 toa focal point FC of the parabolic line may be greater than a distancefrom the bottom 11 to the vertex CT. In other words, assuming that aheight from the bottom 11 to the axis of the parabolic line is a fourthheight L4, the fourth height L4 may be greater than the third height L3.Further, the height of the virtual plane, on which the pipe 30 isdisposed, from the bottom 11 may be smaller than the distance from thebottom 11 to the focal point FC. If the distance from the bottom 11 tothe focal point FC is less than or equal to the third height L3 and isless than or equal to the height of the virtual plane on which the pipe30 is disposed, uniformity of light provided to the pipe 30 may not beguaranteed due to concentration of light caused by the intensity oflight passing through the focal point FC.

In the embodiment, the shape of the parabolic line may be changed invarious ways depending upon the number and locations of the lightemitting devices 23, the width of the bottom 11, the height of thesidewall 13 and the like.

In the sterilizing device having the structure described above, sincethe light emitting devices 23 are disposed on the sidewall 13, mostlight emitted from the light emitting devices 23 travels substantiallyparallel to the bottom 11 and is applied to the pipe 30 through thereflector 50.

If the light emitting devices 23 are disposed on the bottom 11, lightcan travel upwards from the bottom directly below the pipe 30. Whenlight is directly applied to the pipe 30 from such a close distance, aphenomenon in which the light is concentrated only at the locations ofthe light emitting devices 23 and less light is applied to the remainingregion can occur. In other words, in the structure where the lightemitting devices 23 are disposed directly on the bottom 11, the lightemitting devices 23 emit light in a direction from the upper surface ofthe bottom 11 directly to the pipe 30. As a result, although theintensity of light applied to the pipe 30 can be sufficiently high,there can be a significant difference between the intensity of light inregions in which the light emitting devices 23 are disposed and theintensity of light in regions in which the light emitting devices 23 arenot disposed. Accordingly, uniform treatment of the fluid flowing in thepipe 30 can be difficult in practice.

According to the embodiment, in order to prevent non-uniform applicationof light to the pipe 30, the light emitting devices 23 are disposed onthe sidewall 13 of the housing 10 instead of being disposed directlybelow the pipe 30, that is, on the bottom 11. Here, the light emittingdevice 23 may be disposed on the sidewall 13. However, even when thelight emitting devices 23 are simply placed on the sidewall 13, thephenomenon where light is concentrated on some portions of the pipe 30corresponding to the regions in which the light emitting devices 23 aredisposed is still present, and it is still difficult to ensureuniformity of light simply by placing the light emitting devices 23 onthe sidewall 13.

Accordingly, in the sterilizing device according to the embodiment,instead of allowing direct irradiation of the pipe 30 with light emittedfrom the light emitting devices 23, the light emitting devices 23 aredisposed to emit light parallel to the pipe 30 while the reflector 50 isdisposed to uniformly reflect light towards the pipe 30, therebyimproving efficiency in treatment of the pipe 30.

Further, in the sterilizing device according to the embodiment, althoughthe light emitted from the light emitting devices 23 does not travelalong the shortest distance, the distance between the light emittingdevice 23 and the pipe 30 may be maintained to secure the maximumsterilization power by the light emitted from the light emitting devices23. Furthermore, since the light emitted from the light emitting devices23 is provided to the pipe 30 over a very short distance, easysterilization is achieved without light penetrating deeply into thefluid. As a result, sterilization efficiency of the light issignificantly improved.

On the other hand, if the moving speed of the fluid in the pipe 30 istoo low, the amount of the fluid to be treated becomes small. Thus, themoving speed of the fluid may be determined depending on capacity of thelight emitting devices 23 treating the fluid in order to achieveeffective treatment of a suitable amount of the fluid.

According to the embodiment, the sterilizing device allows the fluid toflow along the body 33 having a spiral shape, thereby providing anelongated flow channel inside the pipe 30. The elongated flow channelinside the pipe 30 allows the fluid to be exposed to the light emittedfrom the light emitting devices 23 for a long period of time, therebyincreasing the accumulation rate of light on the fluid while improvingfluid treatment efficiency.

Further, according to the embodiment, since the fluid flows along theelongated flow channel inside the pipe 30, generation of an eddy can beminimized, thereby suppressing stagnation of the fluid that can occurnear a portion where an eddy is generated. When some fluids arestagnant, there can be a problem in that only the stagnant fluids areexposed to light. However, the sterilizing device according to theembodiment can solve this problem.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment, since the sterilizing devicehas a first-in and first-out structure that allows the fluid firstintroduced into the pipe 30 to be eventually discharged first, theoverall fluid has an opportunity to be uniformly exposed to light in thesterilizing device, thereby providing a uniform sterilization effect onthe entire fluid.

Although the fluid flowing in the pipe is illustrated as thesterilization object in the above embodiments, it should be understoodthat the sterilizing device according to the embodiment is not limitedthereto.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a sterilizing deviceaccording to a further another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, a sterilizing device 200 may be used to sterilizevarious portions of a sterilization object 30′, for example, a surfaceof the sterilization object 30′, by applying light to the surfacethereof. In this case, some components such as a pipe, a cover, and thelike, may be omitted and the sterilization object 30′, that is, anarticle to be sterilized, may be directly disposed in the sterilizingdevice instead of the pipe. The sterilization object 30′ may be disposedin the housing 10 described above, or may be disposed at any locationwithout limitation so long as the light emitted from a light emittingdevice 23 can sufficiently reach the sterilization object 30′, insteadof being disposed in the housing. Although the sterilization object 30′has a flat cylindrical shape in this embodiment, it should be understoodthat the sterilization object 30′ is not limited thereto and may have adifferent shape so long as the surface of the sterilization object 30′can be sterilized through application of light.

For example, the sterilization object 30′ to be treated may be anarticle, such as a puff in a compact cosmetic. In this case, the housing10 may correspond to a container for compact cosmetics and an article,such as a puff, may be disposed therein instead of the pipe, therebyenabling sterilization of the article. In the embodiment describedabove, since the pipe 30 (see FIG. 8) is secured to the sidewall 13 ofthe housing 10, the reflector 50 is spaced apart from the pipe 30 andair is interposed therebetween. However, in the sterilizing deviceaccording to this embodiment, a support portion 70 formed of alight-transmitting material may be further disposed between thereflector 50 and the sterilization object 30′.

The support portion 70 may include a light-transmitting material, forexample, silicone or other light-transmitting polymer resins, and may bedisposed on the reflector 50 to stably support the sterilization object30′ by filling a space of the reflector 50 with a material for thesupport portion 70 and then curing the material. In this case, thesidewall 13 of the housing 10 may not be provided with a device forsecuring the sterilization object 30′.

In the sterilizing device according to the embodiment, the reflector maybe modified in various ways in order to improve treatment efficiency.

FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are a perspective view and a sectional view of aportion of a sterilizing device according to an embodiment of theinvention, illustrating a housing, a reflector, and light emittingdevices.

According to the embodiment, the reflector 50 may be disposed in variousareas on the bottom 11. For example, the reflector 50 may be disposed insome regions on the bottom 11. A region in which the reflector 50 coversthe bottom 11 may be modified in various ways depending on the locationof the light emitting devices 23, the intensity of light emitted fromthe light emitting devices 23, the beam angle of the light emitted fromthe light emitting devices 23, and the like.

The reflector 50 may have various shapes. For example, for the bottom 11having a circular shape in plan view, the reflector 50 may have acircular shape and may have a smaller diameter than the bottom 11.Assuming that the diameter of the bottom 11 is a first diameter W1 andthe diameter of the reflector 50 is a second diameter W2, the seconddiameter W2 may be less than the first diameter W1.

When the bottom 11 and the reflector 50 have a circular shape, thebottom 11 and the reflector 50 may be concentrically disposed.Alternatively, in plan view, when the bottom 11 has a circular shape,the reflector 50 may have a different shape than the circular shape andmay be realized by a protrusion or a recess formed towards the lightemitting devices 23.

In the structure where the reflector 50 covers the entirety of thebottom 11, the quantity of light emitted from the light emitting device23 and reflected upwards from the reflector 50 can be relativelyincreased. This is because the reflector 50 has a curved surfaceinclined with respect to a light emission direction, and this structurecannot sufficiently resolve concentration of light on the regions inwhich the light emitting devices 23 are disposed. In the structure wherethe reflector 50 covers a portion of the bottom 11, some fraction of thelight emitted from the light emitting device 23 may be scattered andreflected by the bottom 11 and the other fraction of the light may bereflected upward by the curved surface of the reflector 50. As a result,compared with the structure where the reflector 50 covers the entiretyof the bottom 11, this structure can relieve concentration of light andadvantageously provides more uniform light to the pipe 30.

In some forms, the vertex of the reflector 50 may have a truncatedconical shape and a top surface thereof may be parallel to the bottom11. When the vertex of the reflector 50 is sharply formed in the form ofan apex, light can be concentrated on the vertex. Thus, with thetruncated conical shape of the reflector, it is possible to relieveconcentration of light while improving overall uniformity of light.

In this embodiment, the height at which the light emitting devices 23are disposed, that is, the second height L2, may be less than the heightof the vertex of the reflector 50, that is, the third height L3, asshown in FIG. 11B. This is because the reflection effect by thereflector 50 cannot be achieved when the light emitting devices 23 areplaced at a higher height than the second height L2.

In some forms, the sterilizing device may further include an additionalcomponent for uniform emission of light.

FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B are a perspective view and a sectional view of aportion of a sterilizing device according to an embodiment of theinvention, illustrating a housing, a reflector, light emitting devices,and a blocking portion.

In this embodiment, a blocking portion 60 may be disposed on thesidewall 13 to block some fraction of light emitted from the lightemitting devices 23. The blocking portion 60 blocks light emitted fromthe light emitting devices 23 and traveling directly in the upwarddirection to minimize concentration of light on the regions in which thelight emitting devices 23 are disposed. To this end, the blockingportion 60 is formed along the circumference of the sidewall 13 to beplaced at an end of the sidewall 13 distant from the bottom 11 andprotrudes from the sidewall 13 towards the accommodation space. As aresult, the blocking portion 60 is disposed between the pipe and thelight emitting devices 23 and prevents the light emitted from the lightemitting devices 23 from traveling directly in the upward direction.

As compared with typical sterilizing devices, the sterilizing deviceaccording to the above embodiments significantly improves uniformity oflight in the light emission region in which light is applied to thepipe. Hereinafter, light intensity distributions of sterilizing devicesaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure will be compared withthose of typical sterilizing devices. The following graphs depict therelative intensity of light (arbitrary unit) depending on a lightemission region, and the horizontal axis and the vertical axis indicatedistances from the center (mm).

FIG. 13A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa typical sterilizing device and FIG. 13B is a view of some portions ofthe sterilizing device shown in FIG. 13A. As can be seen from FIG. 13B,in the typical sterilizing device, four light emitting devices aredisposed on the bottom of the housing.

FIG. 14A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofanother typical sterilizing device and FIG. 14B is a view of someportions of the sterilizing device shown in FIG. 14A. As can be seenfrom FIG. 14B, in this typical sterilizing device, four light emittingdevices are arranged at constant intervals on the sidewall of thehousing.

FIG. 15A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa sterilizing device according to an embodiment of the present inventionand FIG. 15B is a view of some portions of the sterilizing device shownin FIG. 15A. As can be seen from FIG. 15B, in the sterilizing device,the light emitting devices are disposed on the sidewall of the housingand the reflector is disposed on the bottom of the housing. Four (4)light emitting devices are disposed on the sidewall and the reflectorcovers the entirety of the bottom.

FIG. 16A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa sterilizing device according to an embodiment of the present inventionand FIG. 16B is a view of some portions of the sterilizing device shownin FIG. 16A. As can be seen from FIG. 16B, in the sterilizing device,the light emitting devices are disposed on the sidewall of the housingand the reflector is disposed on the bottom of the housing. Four (4)light emitting devices are disposed on the sidewall and the reflectorcovers a portion of the bottom.

FIG. 17A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa sterilizing device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure and FIG. 17B is a view of some portions of the sterilizingdevice that corresponds to the graph shown in FIG. 17A. As can be seenfrom FIG. 17B, in the sterilizing device, the light emitting devices aredisposed on the sidewall of the housing, the reflector is disposed onthe bottom of the housing, and the blocking portion is further formed onthe sidewall. Four (4) light emitting devices are disposed on thesidewall and the reflector 50 covers a portion of the bottom.

FIG. 18A is a graph depicting intensity distribution of light in use ofa sterilizing device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure and FIG. 18B is a view of some portions of the sterilizingdevice that corresponds to the graph shown in FIG. 18A. As can be seenfrom FIG. 18B, in the sterilizing device, the light emitting devices aredisposed on the sidewall of the housing, the reflector 50 is disposed onthe bottom of the housing, and the blocking portion 60 is further formedon the sidewall. Six (6) light emitting devices are arranged at constantintervals. The reflector covers a portion of the bottom.

Referring to FIG. 13A and FIG. 14A, in the typical sterilizing devices,regions in which the intensity of light is high and regions in which theintensity of light is not high appear clearly. In particular, referringto FIG. 13A, the intensity of light is very high in regions in whichfour light emitting devices are disposed on the bottom, and issignificantly low in other regions in which no light emitting device isdisposed. Referring to FIG. 14A, it can be seen that, despite the lightemitting devices on the sidewall, the intensity of light issignificantly low in regions in which no light emitting device isdisposed. Further, in the typical sterilizing devices, the intensity oflight is lower in a region corresponding to the center of the lightemission region than in a surrounding region.

On the contrary, referring to FIG. 15A, as the reflector is disposed onthe bottom, overall uniformity of light is significantly improved,despite higher intensity of light in regions corresponding to the lightemitting devices on the sidewall than other regions, and a relativelydark area (that is, a portion at which the intensity of light issignificantly low) is remarkably narrowed, as compared with the typicalsterilizing devices. In particular, reduction in intensity of light doesnot clearly appear in the region corresponding to the center of thelight emission region.

Furthermore, referring to FIG. 16A, as the reflector is disposed on thebottom, overall uniformity of light is further improved, despite higherintensity of light in regions corresponding to the light emittingdevices on the sidewall than other regions. Accordingly, a relativelydark area (that is, a portion at which the intensity of light issignificantly low) is remarkably narrowed, as compared with the typicalsterilizing devices.

Furthermore, as can be seen from the graph of FIG. 17A in which theblocking portion is disposed to prevent light from traveling in theupward direction, uniformity of light is further improved in the lightemission region.

Furthermore, as can be seen from FIG. 18A, uniformity of light isfurther improved with increasing number of light emitting devicesarranged at constant intervals.

As such, the sterilizing device according to the embodiments can providelight at uniform intensity in the light emission region. As a result,the sterilizing device according to the embodiments can effectivelytreat the fluid flowing in the pipe disposed at an upper side thereof.

With the structure described above, the sterilizing device may beapplied to or employed by various apparatuses.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of a water purifier according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 19, the water purifier according to the embodimentincludes filters 64 primarily filtering water, a reservoir 67 storingwater having passed through the filters 64, and a sterilizing device 100connected to the reservoir 67.

The filters 64 serve to remove foreign matter from the supplied water.The water purifier may further include a pump (not shown) connected tothe filters 64 to supply water to the filters 64. The filters 64 may beprovided in various numbers, including filters for removing largeimpurities, filters for removing heavy metals and bacteria, and thelike. In the case of only sterilizing sufficiently purified water usingthe sterilizing device 100, the filters 64 may be omitted.

Water from which foreign matter is removed by the filters 64 isdelivered to the reservoir 67 through a connection tube 65. The waterpurifier may be provided with at least one reservoir 67 or multiplereservoirs 67. Here, in a structure wherein water to be purified issupplied to the sterilizing device 100, the reservoir 67 may be omitted.

The sterilizing device 400 treats water supplied from the reservoir 67.Here, treatment in the sterilizing device may refer to various measures,such as sterilization, purification, deodorization, and the like, asdescribed above. As shown in FIG. 19, the sterilizing device 400 may befurther provided with a draw valve to allow a user to dispense waterimmediately.

As such, with the sterilizing device according to the presentdisclosure, it is possible to implement an apparatus having a verysimple structure and high effects in treatment of air or water.

Although some embodiments have been described herein, it should beunderstood that these embodiments are provided for illustration only andare not to be construed in any way as limiting the present invention,and that various modifications, changes, alterations, and equivalentscan be made by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the presentinvention is not limited to the detailed description herein and shouldbe defined only by the accompanying claims and equivalents thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sterilizing device comprising: a housingincluding a bottom and a sidewall extending upwards from the bottom andhaving an accommodation space defined by the bottom and the sidewall; areflector disposed on the bottom and having a curved reflective surfaceprotruding from the bottom; and a light emitting device disposed on thesidewall and emitting light, wherein the curved reflective surface has avertex having a highest height measured from a center of the bottom inplan view; wherein, in a cross-section of the curved surface taken alonga line perpendicular to the bottom and passing through a center of thebottom, a curved line of the curved reflective surface forms a portionof a parabolic line and a distance from the bottom to a focal point ofthe parabolic line is greater than a distance from the bottom to avertex of the curved reflective surface.
 2. The sterilizing deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising a support portion disposed onthe reflector and having light transmittance.
 3. The sterilizing deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the curved surface has a height graduallydecreasing from the center of the bottom to an outside of the bottom. 4.The sterilizing device according to claim 1, wherein the reflector has asmaller diameter than a diameter of the bottom.
 5. The sterilizingdevice according to claim 1, wherein the bottom has a greater width thana height of the sidewall.
 6. The sterilizing device according to claim1, wherein the light emitting device is provided in plural and isdisposed on the sidewall to emit light into the accommodation space. 7.The sterilizing device according to claim 6, wherein the light emittingdevices are arranged at constant intervals in a radial direction.
 8. Thesterilizing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a blockingportion provided to an end of the sidewall distant from the bottom andblocking some of light emitted from the light emitting device.
 9. Thesterilizing device according to claim 8, wherein the blocking portion isdisposed along an edge of the bottom in plan view.
 10. The sterilizingdevice according to claim 1, further comprising: a pipe disposed in thehousing to be placed on a surface of the housing facing the bottom andadapted to deliver a fluid.
 11. The sterilizing device according toclaim 10, wherein a distance from the bottom to the focal point of theparabolic line is greater than a distance from the bottom to the pipe.12. The sterilizing device according to claim 10, wherein at least apart of the pipe is provided in a spiral shape on the surface of thehousing facing the bottom.
 13. The sterilizing device according to claim10, wherein at least part of the pipe is transparent.
 14. A sterilizingdevice comprising: a housing comprising a bottom and a sidewallextending upwards from the bottom and having an accommodation spacedefined by the bottom and the sidewall; a reflector disposed on thebottom and having a curved reflective surface having a height graduallydecreasing from a center of the bottom to an outside of the bottom; asupport portion disposed on the reflector and having lighttransmittance; a light emitting device disposed on the sidewall andemitting light; and a cover fastened to the housing and covering thehousing, wherein, in a cross-section of the curved reflective surface,taken along a line perpendicular to the bottom and passing through acenter of the bottom, a curved line corresponding to the curvedreflective surface forms a portion of a parabolic line and a distancefrom the bottom to a focal point of the parabolic line is greater than adistance from the bottom to a vertex of the curved reflective surface.15. The sterilizing device according to claim 14, wherein the lightemitting device is disposed to face a sterilization object to besterilized by the light with the support portion interposedtherebetween.
 16. The sterilizing device according to claim 15, whereinthe sterilization object is a pipe in which a fluid flows.
 17. Thesterilizing device according to claim 16, wherein the pipe is disposedin the housing to be placed on a surface of the housing facing thebottom.
 18. The sterilizing device according to claim 17, wherein atleast one of the housing and the cover has openings corresponding to theinlet and the outlet.
 19. The sterilizing device according to claim 15,wherein the curved reflective surface has the vertex having a highestheight measured from a center of the bottom in plan view.
 20. A watersupply comprising: a reservoir containing water; and a water treatmentdevice connected to the reservoir and treating the water, the watertreatment device comprising: a housing comprising a bottom and asidewall extending upwards from the bottom and having an accommodationspace defined by the bottom and the sidewall; a pipe disposed in thehousing to be placed on a surface of the housing facing the bottom andadapted to deliver water; a reflector disposed between the bottom andthe pipe and having a curved reflective surface protruding from thebottom towards the pipe; and a light emitting device disposed on thesidewall and emitting light to the water.